Mario Kart: The Ultimate Champion
by MarioZelda64
Summary: The story begins as Toad, an average Mario Kart racer, dreams to be the Ultimate Champion of Mario Kart. But his journey to the top soon turns into an experience he'll never forget. ALL CHAPTERS HAVE BEEN REWRITTEN, AND THREE NEW CHAPTERS HAVE BEEN ADDED!
1. The News

**7/01 Well, here it is! Sorry for the late post, but I had some things to do yesterday and had to post this on July 1st.**

**As said in the summary, I've completely re-edited this story. Along with fixing spelling and grammar mistakes, I also fixed some choppy sentences and made changes to the storyline, ****minor and major****. I'll probably re-edit my other stories too, so check out the "Future Stories" section in my profile for updates on new stories! Finally, to those of you who read this story before and liked it... well, you're in for a surprise! Here is Mario Kart: The Ultimate Champion like you've never seen it before!**

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**Mario Kart: The Ultimate Champion**

Toad sat on his couch, eating a box of sugar mushrooms, with nothing to do. It was a warm November afternoon, and the Mario Kart season was going to end in just a few days. He switched to the news channel, and was about to turn off the TV when suddenly, he saw Toadsworth appear on-screen.

"Attention all Mario Kart racers!" Toadsworth announced. "As I'm sure you all know, this Saturday is the Mario Kart minor-league championship race, where the top 8 minor-league racers in the world will compete to win it all. For those of you new to Mario Kart, this is the biggest race of the minor-league season, and the winner of the race wins 500,000 coins!

However, this year, the prizes will be different. Instead of choosing to win 500,000 coins, the Mario Kart committee has decided that the winner of this race will move up to the major-leagues! If the winner chooses to move up, the runner-up will win the coins. Here is a report from one of the committee members who made this decision. 'This racing season has shown tremendous skill and talent from our minor-leaguers. Our experts have reported that they have seen the greatest dispersal of talent in over 30 years. It is our honor to welcome the winner of this race to compete with all the rest of the talented racers in the major-leagues.'

Well, folks, it looks like we're gonna have a heated race tomorrow! That is all for now, and good luck to all minor-leaguers on Saturday!" Toadsworth disappeared, while the news continued its regular reports. Toad smiled to himself.

"This is my chance!" said Toad, as he already knew that he was in the race. The good news was that he placed second overall in the race. However, his partner was Bowser.

When first asked to choose his racing partner, Toad didn't care who it was, and he let the Mario Kart committee pick for him. When he found out Bowser was participating in the minor-leagues, he immediately tried to choose someone, but it was too late. Before he could tell the Mario Kart committee that he wanted to choose a partner, they had already chosen Bowser as Toad's partner.

But if Toad won the race on Saturday, he would be free of Bowser; he would be able to pick a new partner for the major-leagues.

Toad then realized he had been sitting on his couch for over 3 hours, not preparing for the race. Over the past week, he had been preparing for the big race by training with Bowser every night for 3 hours. Toad jumped off the couch, and got ready to head over to the training track to train with Bowser.

At the track, he met with a grumpy Bowser, who was angry at Toad's constant late arrival. "Can't you ever arrive on time? How are we ever going to win the race with you, polka-dot boy?" Toad ignored him and walked to the garage. "Come on, let's get this done," he said, jumping into the driver's seat of the small, blue Mushroom go-kart.

"No way!" Bowser said, backing away from the kart. "If anything, I should get the driver's seat! And anyway, how do you drive that thing? I thought we raced in real go-karts, not cheap little toy cars! How am I supposed to fit in there?"

Toad thought about saying "Well maybe you shouldn't be my partner" or something, but there was no time for arguing. With reluctance, Bowser eventually squeezed himself into the rear of the go-kart, and the two racers trained for the night.

Going to bed that night, Toad didn't feel fully prepared, but he was confident enough in his racing abilities that he could win this one.


	2. The Minor League Championship

"BEEEP! BEEEP!" Toad's alarm clock buzzed, waking him up at 10:00 A.M. He slowly got up and looked at his calendar.

"2:00 P.M at Dry Dry Desert!" he said, happily. He got ready and prepared for the race, his chance to win the minor-league glory. And be away from Bowser. At 10:50, he called Bowser to prepare once more. Once again, their training session didn't go too well.

"Get in your Karts!" the Lakitu said, hovering above the eight racers. The top eight minor-league racers sat lined up before the finish line, ready to compete for a chance at moving up to the major-leagues. Toad sat in his kart quietly, with Bowser grumbling in the back. Despite Bowser's attitude, Toad had to win this one. It was the only way to get rid of him.

Finally, the Lakitu hung a black traffic light above them, which started to flash. Red, Yellow... GREEN! Sand and dust flew into the air as the eight go-karts sped off. Toad felt confident right from the start. After all, he had Bowser's huge spiked shells, and the shiny blue Mushroom Kart, which proved to be one of the fastest karts in the league. For the first lap, they raced unlike they had ever raced before. They dodging items from other karts, avoided pokeys on the road, and kept the other seven karts out of sight. The Lakitu then hung the sign in front of their heads, saying "Lap 2".

"Hey, get this thing outta my way!" Toad shouted, annoyed by the sign. He almost crashed, like he did when he first started Mario Kart races. Toad saw a kart in the distance from the rearview mirror, and found that it was the #1 ranked kart, the one team of racers that did better than Toad and Bowser during the season. Koopa and Paratroopa sat inside.

Throughout the whole race, Bowser shouted things like, "Move it, mushroom head!", or "C'mon, step on it!" Although Bowser shouted rude comments, Toad was able to stay calm; he was used to Bowser's negative attitude. Finally, they saw the sign over their heads, saying "Final Lap". Toad noticed a problem. First off, the "Final Lap" sign was blocking his view again. But worse, the tires were screeching, and the kart seemed to be going slower.

"Nice going, Bowser!" Toad thought, knowing that this was Bowser's fault. The small, light kart easily faced problems with the large weight of Bowser inside. Also, Toad was forced to speed up after Bowser's comments, which slightly damaged the tires. But Toad still felt confident that with the quality of his kart, the tires would make it through. Then, through all the sand and dust floating in the air, Toad saw the black and white checkerboard finish line up ahead. Behind him, however, he heard the roaring motor of Koopa and Paratroopa's kart.

"Do you want to win or not? Slowpoke!" Bowser shouted at Toad in his deep, angry voice.

Toad had had enough. Bowser was an unfit partner for anyone, and now, seconds away from crossing the finish line, he was still shouting rude comments. Toad thought about the shining championship trophy on the sideline, and hated that Bowser would be able to hold it if Toad could finish first. Even worse, Bowser would be headed to the major-leagues, when he really had no talent at all. Still, there was a draft every year for new racers, so Toad was going to try replacing Bowser, if he could.

So this was it. Toad's last race with Bowser. Only a few more-

"Are you trying to get to the finish line or hit pokeys! Learn how to drive!" Bowser's loud voice interrupted Toad's thoughts, and sure enough, there was a pokey right in front of him. He swerved quickly to the right, but he couldn't turn in time. He had already dented the right side of his kart badly, and was now spinning rapidly, completely out of control. He tried to control his kart, but the sand got in his eyes, and he couldn't see where he was going.

Then, he felt himself rise, still spinning. He looked down below him, and saw the #1 ranked kart speed by under him, into first place. He was in a tornado. The tornado violently threw him away as the other six racers passed him. Toad saw the ground rushing toward him, falling quickly, and he closed his eyes, ashamed. Then, everything went black.


	3. Abandoned

Toad opened his eyes and found himself on a hospital bed.

"Oh, thank goodness you're okay," one of the doctors in his room said. "You really took a nasty fall after that tornado threw you to the ground."

Then Toad started to remember. He never even finished the race, and Koopa and Paratroopa were now major-league racers.

Toad glanced to the right, and saw that the hospital bed next to him was empty. "Wait! Where's Bowser?" Toad asked, confused.

"He was in that empty bed next to you. But he got up before you and said, 'There's no way that I'm riding with that mediocre driver ever again!' Then, he left before we could tend to him."

So Bowser was gone. And so were Toad's hopes for getting a spot in the major-leagues.

"But what about my partner for next year?" Toad said.

"Looks like you're gonna need a new one, that's all," a nurse said to him. Suddenly, Mario stepped in.

"Hey Toad," he said timidly, with a frown on his face. "Uh... you know how you um... crashed, back there?" Mario shook nervously. "Well, uh... I think you're gonna need a new kart, too."

Mario started to explain how the blue Mushroom kart flew out of the tornado, hitting one of the stone pillars on the race track. "It's still there, if you wanna go see… but I don't think it can be fixed." Toad stared blankly, speechless. He felt a tear in his eye, and right then, he considered quitting the Mario Kart League all together. He didn't care about his medical condition, struggling to get up out of the bed. The doctors held him down, telling him he would have to stay at the hospital for the next week. Toad sulked back into the bed, and wept. He wept over the race, the trophy that could have been his, his failure at his chance of entering the major-leagues, and the speedy kart he had had for years, now reduced to junk.

"I… but… how am I… supposed to…"

"Well, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong were the runner-ups, so they got the 500,000 coins. But they felt really bad after seeing you fall. They wanted me to give you this." Mario held up a bag of 250,000 coins. Toad instantly jumped up.

"No way! They split it evenly? Wow, look at this, Bow-" but Toad stopped. Bowser was nowhere to be found. "Well, who needs him anyway. But Mario, how am I going to get a new partner if Bowser left? I didn't make it to the major-leagues.

"Well, Toad, if you lost your partner, you can always come to the minor-league draft next Thursday," Mario said. "It's an event where all the new minor-leaguers pick their partners, but I'm sure we can let you pick too."

Mario finished, and walked out. He seemed to be in higher spirits after giving Toad the coins. Toad, too, was in higher spirits. He had a chance to pick a new, helpful partner, and he could use the 250,000 coins to buy a brand new kart.

When Toad was finally let go from the hospital, he got home and checked his calendar.

"Well, today is Sunday, and the minor-league draft for next year is Thursday," he thought. "Maybe I can get a new partner then." And so he sat back down on his couch, once again with nothing to do but wait until Thursday.


	4. A New Partner

"Okay, everyone, it's time to draft the minor-league newcomers!" Toadsworth shouted excitedly. A whole crowd of bewildered, young racers stood in a clump near the podium. It was finally here, the day of the Mario Kart minor-league draft. However, nobody came after Toadsworth called. "What are they doing?" Toadsworth thought.

They were all surrounding Toad, asking him things like, "What are you doing here?", or "Sorry about what happened," Everyone surrounded Toad except for one person. It was a girl. She seemed too shy to join.

"EVERYONE, IT'S TIME NOW!" Toadsworth shouted. Finally, everyone came over.

"We will now begin the draft for all of our incoming minor-league racers!" Toadsworth announced. Then, Toadsworth started calling names. Each racer would walk up to the podium, eyeing everyone carefully. Though anyone would expect the racers to be clueless, they actually knew most of the other racers there, and so most decisions were good for both partners. The draft went on, and Toad nearly fell asleep, despite Toadsworth's excited voice ringing out over the microphone.

Finally, Toad heard Toadsworth call out: "And now, Toad, from the current minor-leagues, will pick a partner!" Toad rushed up and saw the crowd of newcomers. He was one of the only people at the draft who didn't know another racer. Only he and the shy girl didn't know anybody. Toad hated all the others for crowding him with questions, humiliating him. But he saw the shy girl, sitting calmly, awaiting her chance to join the minor-leagues. Then he heard one of the racers in the crowd whisper: "Dude, I think he's looking at Toadette over in the corner."

"Toadette… She definitely seems nicer than Bowser," Toad thought. Then, after a moment of thought, Toad called out:

"I'll pick... Toadette!" Toad shouted while pointing to her. She looked surprised, but smiled a bit. When Toad came down from the podium, Toadette joined him, still smiling. She too seemed happy with Toad's decision.

"Well, that's it everyone! We hope you will have a great time with your new partners, and we'll see you next year for a new year of racing!" Toadsworth said, and the ceremony concluded. Everyone gradually left, all of them satisfied with their new partners.

But then, Toad saw something in his head. He imagined himself, holding the minor-league championship trophy up in the air, while Toadette stood next to him, smiling as always. This vision had to come true. Toad was ready for competition once again, and this time, he had a new partner to accompany him.


	5. A New Beginning

Toad awoke on the morning of June 1st. The Mario Kart season started today. The first race of the year was in Luigi Circuit. Toad with his new partner, Toadette, and was ready to do a lot better this year than the past 3 years of his Mario Kart career. This was his 4th year, and he was ready to be a major-leaguer at the end of this year. He then heard a sound that made him snap out of his thoughts.

"Come on Toad, get ready!" Toadette shouted, more encouragingly than Bowser would've done. Here it was again. Red, Yellow...GREEN!

The fans cheered like never before, because of the new kart on the road. Toad's shiny, golden mushroom kart made a blinding flash in the sunlight. His new kart was also of excellent quality, made from the finest mechanics in the Mushroom Kingdom for 250,000 coins.

"This definitely beats my old kart," Toad smiled to himself, as he and Toadette sped into first place. None of the other karts were in sight, and even Toad wondered how he wasn't in the major-leagues with this kind of racing. They entered Lap 2 (the sign still getting in Toad's way), then suddenly, Toad heard a giant spiked shell come up behind him. He swerved out of the way and looked back.

"Why didn't you do that before, Toad?" Bowser shouted, with his son at the driver's seat. "Jr. and I are gonna beat you good!" Bowser's kart picked up speed, and almost hit the back bumper of Toad's kart. Suddenly, something amazing happened. Toad's kart did a back flip and landed on Bowser's old kart. Bowser and Bowser Jr. were helplessly crushed. Then, Toad drove away.

"See you later!" Toad shouted over his head.

Toad and Toadette skillfully avoided traps, and got even farther away from the other karts. They sped through Lap 3 at top speed, and took first place in the end.

"That was easy for a first race," Toad thought, as he and Toadette earned 10 points to their season record. "Toadette's a natural at throwing items, and with her and this kart, we're unstoppable."


	6. An Ultimate Champion's Dream

Toad was sitting in his kart, at the starting line in Bowser's Castle, waiting for the race to start. He started to think about the future. He wondered if he would win this year, and be invited to the major-leagues, or if some new enemy would stand in his way and stop him. He knew that even with Toadette and his golden mushroom kart, it was going to be a struggle to make it to the top and win.

And then, there was the question of the major-leagues. Toad hadn't been a new member of a racing league for 4 years now. Would he finish in last place every race, or would he be the next Ultimate Champion, and win it all? The questions flooded through his mind.

"Let's go, Toad!" Toadette shouted, again waking him from his mind wander. Toad gripped the steering wheel tight, with his dream still in mind: He wanted to be the Ultimate Champion of Mario Kart, and nobody was gonna stop him. But first, he needed to leave the minor-leagues, once and for all.

Red, Yellow... GREEN! Everyone took off. Before long, it was Toad and Bowser again, neck-to-neck.

"Not in my house!" Bowser shouted, and attempted to push Toad off the bridge and into the water. Toad slammed the gas pedal and turned a bit to the right, as Bowser drove off the bridge.

"I think you meant, not in my castle!" Toad shouted back, and sped off into 1st place. He took shortcuts he had never seen before, avoided fireballs from the castle's traps, and got the perfect items to keep others away, despite being in first place, which usually got him bad items.

Eventually, Toad and Toadette pulled past the finish line in 1st place, ending the first three quarters of the racing season. They had 1,130 points now, and they were in 1st place overall in the entire league, beating Bowser and Bowser Jr., who only had 1,010 points.

Toad looked at the season standings and knew that if he and Toadette kept up their amazing racing skills, they could qualify to race in the minor-league championship race.


	7. The Good, The Bad, and The Deal

"Congratulations to the top 8 Mario Kart teams!" Toadsworth announced on the PA at Rainbow Road, as the semi-final race of the season concluded. "The top 8 minor-league Mario Kart teams in the world are:

#8- Boo and King Boo  
#7- Peach and Daisy  
#6- Wario and Waluigi  
#5- Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong  
#4- Yoshi and Birdo  
#3- Dry Bones and Dry Bowser  
#2- Bowser and Bowser Jr.  
#1- Toad and Toadette

"Good luck to all top 8 teams, and we'll see you next Saturday, at the minor-league championship race in Dry Dry Desert!" Toadsworth said, and walked away. Toad was relieved upon seeing the standings on the leaderboard. He was the #1 team in the world, and he had another chance at being invited to the- wait a second… The one thing that Toadsworth didn't mention was that the champion was invited to the major-leagues. Toad ran up to Toadsworth.

"Toadsworth, I think you forgot to mention that the champion gets invited to the major-leagues. You should probably say that to the newcomers since they're... well, new," Toad said.

"Oh no, my dear," Toadsworth replied. "That was a one-year offer only. We won't be having that offer again for a couple more years!"

"What? But… how could you give-"

"If you listened to the reports last year, we felt that there were many deserving racers in the league. We just don't feel the same way this year. That was never meant to be a yearly offer."

Toad, lost for words, stormed away, angry and in shock. His anger turned to grief, and he sulked all the way home, knowing that he might not go to the major-leagues for another few years. He turned back, and headed back to Luigi Circuit to find Toadsworth.

"Okay, Toadsworth, I've decided that I'm not interested in racing anymore. I want to quit. Yeah, that sounds good," Toad said to himself on the way back.

"Hey, wait up there," A voice whispered from behind him. A creature walked out from the bushes. He was a big, hooded creature, with a big black robe. The back of it had many holes in it. He had a very deep voice.

"Um... I work for the Mario Kart committee, and heard what you just said. I'm your biggest fan, and it has been my dream to see you riding on one of those major-league courses. The whole committee agrees with me. So, how about this, let's make a deal: You win the minor-league championship, and I'll talk the committee into letting you in the major-leagues."

"Who are you, and why are you wearing a robe?" Toad said.

"My name isn't important. And I'm very sensitive to the moonlight." the creature replied back. Toad looked up at the sky. The moon was clearly out , and it was nighttime.

"I see…" Toad said skeptically. "Anyway, isn't that illegal? You can't just change the rules!"

"If I can convince the committee to do it, then it's not illegal, is it? And believe me, if you win, I _will_ convince them."

"But how do I know you won't just trick me and not do anything?"

"Hmm… how about this: I'll convince them to bring up the same offer they had last year, where the winner goes to the major-leagues. The only catch is, you're gonna have to win this time if you want to go to the major-leagues."

"Don't remind me." Toad grumbled. "And if I lose?"

"Well then, I guess the winner of the race will go on. It's all in your hands; I'll do the convincing."

"Well, I am on the #1 team this year… but it's too big of a-"

"Well okay then, see you next year at the start of the minor-leagues!"

"No, wait! I'll… I'll take it."

"Good choice, Toad. And good luck at the race!" The creature shouted back to Toad as he ran home happily. Toad couldn't belive his luck. He had just accepted a deal where he could live a dream, or live miserably.


	8. The Face of A Dream

Toad was up bright and early Saturday morning, ready for the final race. If he won this race, he would finally be in the major-leagues. He went over to the training track with Toadette, and they trained for the rest of the morning.

2:00 P.M: It was time for the race. Toad and Toadette showed up at Dry Dry Desert very early. Only Bowser and Bowser Jr. were there. Bowser Jr. was complaining about having to arrive so early, but got excited when Toad and Toadette arrived. He stuck his tongue out at Toad, who just ignored it and started preparing his kart, which had been locked up inside the cold garage at the training track overnight. Shortly afterwards, racers and fans started rushing in for the big race.

"Welcome to the minor-league championship race!" Toadsworth finally announced on the PA system. Hundreds of fans cheered as the pre-game ceremony started.

"Okay everyone, get in your karts!" the Lakitu said, after the pre-game ceremony had ended.

Red, Yellow... GREEN! Eight motors roared as the karts sped off. Wario and Waluigi had a problem starting their kart, and started the race in last place. But Toad and Toadette were speeding through Dry Dry Desert, taking shortcuts. Toadette got the best items and kept the other karts away, and Toad raced through the familiar track at top speed.

Lap 2 began, and Toad and Toadette were still in first place. Here, for some reason, the kart slowed down a bit.

"What's going on? Toadette, check to see what's happening," Toad said nervously.

"TOAD!" a voice boomed. Toad knew that voice. It was Bowser, coming from behind. "It was wrong of you to accept that deal!" Bowser shouted, and laughed.

Toad couldn't believe it. Bowser must have caused something to go wrong in Toad's engine before the race, and then planned to ruin Toad's dream and move on to the major-leagues.

"I couldn't convince the committee to let me into the major-leagues, so instead they made the same offer as last year!"

"But you don't work for the Mario Kart committee!" Toad shouted back to Bowser.

"No I don't, but I could still scare them enough! You should've seen their scared little looks. And I can't wait to see your look when I go to the major-leagues!"

Toad got angry and bumped Bowser off the course. The sand on the side of the track slowed him down, and he dropped behind Toad and Toadette. Now Toad started talking aloud:

"I will not lose," he said quietly. "I will not lose my chance again." Then, he screamed, louder than ever:

"I will be the Ultimate Champion!"

Toad dodged traps, and drived better than he had before. Then, through all the sand and dust floating in the air, Toad saw the black and white checkerboard finish line up ahead. Behind him, however, he heard the roaring motor of Bowser and Bowser Jr.'s kart.

"You can do this Toad!" Toadette shouted. Toad smiled brightly. He felt confidence. No one could stop him now. The moment was finally here, and they were still in first place. There was no way he was going to let Bowser-

Toad's thoughts were interrupted by a pokey, sitting right in front of him. He swerved quickly to the right, but he couldn't turn in time. He had already dented the right side of his kart badly, and was now spinning rapidly, completely out of control. He tried to control his kart, but the sand got in his eyes, and he couldn't see where he was going. Then, he felt himself rise, still spinning. He was in a tornado, again.

But then, as he started to rise from the ground, he took Toadette by the arm and jumped, farther than he had ever jumped before. As he neared the edge of the tornado, it weakly threw him away, sending him and Toadette falling to the ground.

He saw the finish line right in front of him, inches away. He looked back and saw the racers drawing near. Toad stretched out his arm as far as he could, and his hand crossed the finish line as he hit the ground.

He looked up, confused. Racers were flying by him, one by one, and he didn't even know if he had won. Then, he saw Toadsworth, jumping with joy, and running towards him with two gold ribbons in his hand. Toad relaxed his arm, turned onto his back, and breathed a heavy sigh of relief.


	9. Halfway There

As Toadsworth approached them, Toad and Toadette got up slowly from the sand. Toad immediately looked over at Toadette, who was already getting to her feet, and still confused about what had just happened.

Toad and Toadette finally received their championship ribbons, and despite his fatigue, Toad jumped up, happier than he had ever been in his life. After his moment of celebration, Toadsworth approached him.

"Uh, Mr. Toad, sir, I'm sorry I forgot inform you that you will be going to the major-leagues. You see… uh, something happened, and he had to change our plans at the last minute so that the winner could go on."

"Oh, really?" Toad said, trying to sound surprised.

"Hey, they're awake!" Bowser shouted from afar. "Mr. Toadsworth, sir, their kart didn't even go past the finish line! They lost!" Bowser pouted.

"Yes, but Toad and Toadette won, not their kart."

"What? But… I… You can't-"

"Yes I can, Bowser. Now why don't you go home with all the other racers?"

Bowser looked around at the stands, and saw all of the crowd emptying out. He stomped away, angrily. Toadsworth watched him go, then looked back at Toad and smiled.

"By the way, Toad, before you go to the major-leagues, I must ask you: would you like to keep your current partner or draft a new one?"

Toad looked at Toadette, and smiled. "I think I'll keep my partner."

"Very well then," Toadsworth said. "Congratulations to you both, and I'll see you next year in the major-leagues!" Toadsworth then left the desert.

"Well, see you next year Toad!" Toadette said, smiling at him once again. She also left, leaving only Toad. Toad looked around at the familiar track, the tornados still blowing around, and the ancient stone pillars he constantly had to dodge. The next time he raced here, it wouldn't be for a championship, but only for 10 points.

However, Mario Circuit races wouldn't just be for 10 points anymore. If he ever raced at Mario Circuit again, it would be for the major-league championship, with the Ultimate Champion trophy on the sideline.

Toad then realized that his kart was nowhere to be found. He started to walk the entire track to search for it, but then he saw a pipe buried in the sand that he had never seen before. "Maybe it fell in here," Toad thought to himself, and jumped down.

He landed in a large, dark cave, with a long path that led somewhere, but it was too dark to see. There were torches on the side of the path, and Toad took one of them, using it to walk down the path. There were no twists or turns, but only a single path that Toad still couldn't see the end of.

Then, he saw the dark outline of a kart. It was sitting at the end of the path, in a small circular room. There was a sign at the outside of the room that read: "Bowser's Masterpiece in construction. DO NOT TOUCH."

Toad approached the kart, and shined the torch to it. It looked almost identical to his first kart, only it was gold instead of blue, and it was quite a bit larger. Then, Toad realized that the path he had walked down was actually a testing track for the kart. Excited at realizing this, he jumped into the new kart and started it up. The engine roared and the kart's brand new features came to life. "Hmm, it seems to work alright. Time to try it out!"

Toad turned the kart towards the path and stepped on the gas pedal. It jumped forward abruptly, causing him to stop the kart. After he had gotten used to its acceleration, he rode the kart up and down the track, sometimes going fast, but then having to stop quickly. The kart rode smoothly, and seemed to be finished. "Wow!" Toad exclaimed. "This thing is better than my old kart!"

Toad took the kart out of the cave, and then rode it back home. "Too bad Bowser forgot to pick it up!" Toad laughed, but then his laughter turned to seriousness.

"Maybe he didn't forget. Maybe there's something missing from it." But then he laid back and relaxed as his kart rode down the road. "Oh, who cares? It's faster than my old kart! I can't wait to show this to Toadette!"

Toad got home and sat on his couch. He turned on his TV, but this time, he wasn't bored. He waited excitedly for June 1st of next year, when he would finally begin his career in the major-leagues. His dream came to mind again:

Once again, he saw himself holding a trophy, only this time it was the Ultimate Champion trophy; he and Toadette were champions of the major-leagues. He thought about his new kart, and knew that he could do it, and that nobody would stop him.


	10. Opening Day

"Wow! This is amazing!" Toadette shouted as Toad's brand new kart raced around the training track. The Mario Kart season was going to begin in a week, and Toad and Toadette were preparing for their first major-league race.

"See? I told you! We're gonna win this first race!"

"It even goes faster than our first kart!"

As Toad and Toadette left the training track that evening, they both felt a lot more confident about the upcoming race, and Toad couldn't stop thinking about it. His dream had almost come true. All that there was left to it was to win it all this year.

June 1st had arrived once again. It was time for the first Mario Kart race of the year. Toad and Toadette entered Wario Coliseum, ready for their first major-league race. Toad kept smiling the whole way in.

"What is it, Toad?"

"This is it. We're finally major-leaguers. We have a brand new kart, and I'm sure we can win!" Toadette smiled as she had always done before.

Then, as Toad walked into Wario Coliseum, he saw a sight he would never forget. Fans. Thousands and thousands of fans, piled high everywhere in the stadium. Toad had never raced with this many fans all around him.

"Everyone, get in your karts!" the Lakitu said. The crowd was still cheering, excited for the first major-league race of the year.

But this time, there was a different lakitu. This one had an orange body, a black cloud below it, and a red shell on its back. The Lakitu flashed a traffic light. It started to flash. "Ready, set... GO!" And everyone flew off, except for Toad and Toadette, who didn't get as fast of a start.

Later on, Toad and Toadette were able to catch up. They stayed in fourth place for most of the race, but weren't ever able to catch up to first place. The racers bullied Toad and Toadette, purposely going after them with items because they were newcomers. Despite struggling against the experienced racers, Toad and Toadette still remained in fourth place. Before Toad and Toadette could catch up to third place, it was already Lap 2, the final lap in Wario Coliseum.

Toadette started finding new items, ones she had never seen before. She found a hammer, a sword, a stick, and a red light sa- uh, beam sword. She tried to make good use of them, but didn't know how to use them, and so they remained in 4th place. Toad stepped a little harder on the gas pedal, trying to move up to third before the race ended.

Then, Toad saw the racers taking shortcuts that were never before found, and doing impossible tricks over rails to save time. Toad and Toadette weren't far from the finish line, and they had dropped to sixth place now. Luckily, Toadette found two red shells from an item box. She threw them at the two karts ahead of her. They raced past those karts, and just before crossing the finish line, Toad managed to drive past the third place kart to finish in third place.

Toad wasn't too happy with the rank. He got out of his kart, and started thinking of ways that he and Toadette could get better, ways that he and Toadette could finish the year in first place. They did better than Toad had first expected, but there seemed to be something wrong with the kart. It had gone at top speed the entire time, and seemed to work fine, but the other karts were a lot faster. The kart still had a few speed-related parts missing from it.

"I guess the kart wasn't finished after all," Toad realized.

Toad rode home in his kart that night, checking for problems with it. But there were none. The other karts were simply better than his. He knew that if he wanted to win the major-leagues, he would first have to do something about his kart.


	11. The Barrier of Worlds

Toad's appointment with Dr. Shwibberwigins had finally arrived. They were going to find out what parts were missing from Toad's kart that made it go faster. They had to hurry up though, because Toad and Toadette were going to race at DK Pass at 6:00 P.M.

At 1:30 P.M., Toad entered Dr. Shwibberwigins office.

"Excuse me, Dr. Shwibberwigins, but I have an appointment today," Toad said, as he walked in.

"Ah yes, the king of the minor-league, also known as Toad. Come on in," Dr. Shwibberwigins said. Dr. Shwibberwigins was an old man, very old, but he knew a lot about go-karts, and was willing to help Toad with his problem.

Toad and Dr. Shwibberwigins sat and talked about the kart. Toad had brought the kart to be worked on, so Dr. Shwibberwigins examined it, wrote down the parts it was made of, then did some repairs to make it faster. The whole appointment took a while, but they finally finished at 5:00.

"Okay Toad, that shall solve all of your problems. Good luck with the races!" Dr. Shwibberwigins said at last.

"Thanks, Dr. Shwibberwigins!" Toad said, as he walked out the door.

"Call me Shwibby."

"Um, okay… I'll see you… later." Toad slipped out the door.

As Toad got into his newly-repaired kart to go to DK Pass, he realized how late it was. "Oh no, Toadette's probably wondering where I am! I have to hurry!"

Toad stepped on the gas pedal, and the kart blasted forward. Toad slammed on the brakes, thrown off by the speed of the kart.

"Wow, that was almost the top speed of my old kart! This is gonna be great!" Through many starts and stops, Toad finally arrived at DK Pass on time.

Finally, it was time for Toad's next race. The kart looked good and ready to go. All the karts lined up. "Ready, set...GO!" the traffic light signaled the start of the race. Dr Shwibberwigins' knowledge proved to be very helpful, and Toad sped into first place, just the way it worked outside of ' office. Toadette was nearly thrown off the kart, but she managed to hang on and continued the rest of the race trying to get used to the kart's speed.

Then, as Toad and Toadette entered Lap 2, the crowd's attention was drawn away from the speeding karts. Instead, the crowd was focused on the two men, who were light sa- uh, beam sword dueling in the middle of the race track. Several racers swerved left and right, and some crashed. One of the men was dressed completely in black, with his face covered by a mask.

"Holy crap! It's Darth Vader!" Toad yelled out loud. "What the Fawful is he doing here?"

Chaos ensued throughout the track. The fans screamed as TIE fighters flew overhead. By the end of the race, everyone was in a panic. Even the Star Wars characters, who had somehow gotten into the Mushroom Kingdom, were confused.

* * *

"It's the Barrier of Worlds. Something's gone wrong in the Barrier of Worlds," Toadsworth told Toad later on. "It's the barrier between all fictional worlds."

"Hey! You callin' me fictional?" Toad said.

"Shut up. Anyway, without the Barrier of Worlds, everything from different worlds would cross paths, leaving the whole universe in chaos, as you saw during the race."

"But, who could've done this? And how?"

"I don't know. And I don't want to find out. Messing with the dimensions is an unthinkable crime."

"Wait a second. Dimensions?"

TOAD'S FLASHBACK:

Toad stood trembling outside the gates of Mushroom Castle, while Mario and Luigi went inside to save Princess Peach. Thanks to Toad, Mario and Luigi heard about Princess Peach being captured by Bowser, and went to save her. The front gate was open, so Toad stepped in. Inside the following room, he heard Bowser's voice.

"THOSE IDIOTS! IF YOU'RE THE LAST ONE IN, SHUT THE GATE!" Bowser yelled while stomping his feet on the ground. Then, Toad heard someone appear and call himself "Count Bleck". Count Bleck started to explain some plan about destroying all the dimensions in the universe. Toad then heard Mario hit the ground hard as he tried to save Princess Peach; Then after a long time, he heard someone wake Mario and call herself "Tippi". Finally, after a short conversation between Mario and Tippi, which Toad couldn't hear, everything was silent.

Toad didn't want to hold back any longer, so he rushed into the room. But he found nothing. Just an empty room. And so Toad stood there, unsure of what to do.

BACK TO PRESENT TIME:

"Worlds, dimensions, they're almost the same. Count Bleck is usually found messing around with the dimensions. Aha! It was Count Bleck! I gotta find Mario and tell him about this, before it's too late!" Toad said out loud. Before Toadsworth could say another word, Toad rushed out to find Mario.


	12. The Time Bomb

Toad and Toadette were well through the season as major-leaguers, and were doing great. They had 1,036 points. They were in 3rd place overall, only behind Koopa and Paratroopa, who had 1,052 points, and Mario and Luigi, who had 1,080 points.

There were only six more races until the final championship race. If Toad and Toadette could stay in the top 8 rankings, they would get a spot in the biggest Mario Kart race of the year. And if they won that race, Toad would finally accomplish his life dream of being the Ultimate Champion of Mario Kart.

"I… I'm so close!" Toad thought to himself as he sat in his kart at Yoshi Falls, waiting for the race to start. Once again, the Lakitu hung the traffic light over the eight racers."Ready, set... GO!"

Everyone sped off, but no one knew Yoshi Falls better than Toad. Well… except Yoshi. Toad and Toadette jumped into first place with an early lead over the other racers. The track was short, and so was the race. As Toad came around the end of Lap 2, he saw a giant structure broken in half, sitting outside the stadium. "That must be the Barrier of Worlds," Toad thought.

Luckily, there had been no more strange encounters since the "invasion" of the Star Wars characters at DK Pass. Even the area around the barrier didn't look bad.

Eventually, they were on the final lap, as the second place kart started to catch up to them. Toadette managed to stop the kart with a banana peel. Toad and Toadette pulled past the finish line in first place, now having 1,046 points.

They began to get out of their karts and celebrate, when somebody from the audience made a very noticeable shout.

"AHHH, LOOK! IT'S COUNT BLECK!" The scream sounded throughout the stadium. Everyone looked up into the sky. Toad followed their gaze, looking for the mysterious man. Up in the sky, near the Barrier of Worlds, floated Count Bleck.

"Yes, it is I, Count Bleck, who will destroy this pathetic world!" Count Bleck's voice boomed all over Yoshi Falls. Toad wanted to call for help, but Mario was nowhere in sight.

"Not only will I destroy this world, but I will destroy every world! Every world that ever existed!"

While he said this, a giant rock dropped from the sky and landed near the Barrier of Worlds. There was something inscribed on the rock. "10 d, 0 h, 0 m, 0 s"

"Hey, wait... That's a time bomb!" Toad shouted.

"Yes. And in just 10 days, it will explode, causing all worlds to be destroyed! And nobody can stop it from detonating! It's invincible!" Count Bleck laughed manically. "Good-bye. FOREVER!" He laughed again, and then disappeared out of the sky.

There was a riot throughout the stadium, and nobody knew what to do. They had only ten days to destroy something that couldn't even be destroyed. To make matters worse, Mario was still missing from the scene; he didn't even know about the bomb.

Also, the major-league championship race was supposed to take place in 10 days, which Toad was qualified to be in.

As Toad realized this, he tried to find Toadsworth. Toad wanted to beg him to let the race go on, but he couldn't see anything through all the panicked faces around him. If no one could stop the time bomb in ten days, the race would have to be canceled.

During that moment, Toad couldn't decide what was worse: failing his life dream, or losing his life completely.


	13. The Dream Must Go On

"No, Toad… I d-don't... see… we c-couldn't…" Toadsworth stuttered in his office as Toad demanded to hear the status of the championship race. It seemed as if the whole world was speechless after the time bomb dropped.

"D-didn't you hear… the whole world…"

"I don't care about that! Why cancel the race? What good would that do for anyone?"

"Mr. Toad, sir, we c-couldn't. The race i-is a huge event, not j-just a small c-competition."

"And your point is?"

"The answer i-is no. We c-can't."

Toad and Toadsworth argued for nearly an hour, but Toad couldn't convince him. The world was coming to an end, and the race was canceled.

During the days that followed, the whole world seemed to tremble before the menacing time bomb, which grew bigger as the timer counted down.

The factories and offices were abandoned. No one could speak to another without bursting into tears. All activities and events were canceled and considered pointless. The world's last ten days were filled with moments of chaos, uncertainty, and fear.

Even Toad eventually succumbed to this disease of fear. He sat in his house, shaking uncontrollably, and waiting for the inevitable.

And Mario was still nowhere to be found. The world had fallen weak, and all the people waited as their daily life came to a standstill.

* * *

On the final day of life on Earth, Toad finally left his house. The time bomb was visible from every point on the planet. Toad got into his kart, and drove straight to Yoshi Falls. Attempts had been made to ferry people out into space, but these attempts were rushed, and they failed. The streets were empty and silent, and no human life could be found. Toad arrived in Yoshi Falls a few minutes later.

Toad parked his kart on the side of the road next to the finish line, and got out of his kart. He stood for a few moments, and then walked around the race track he knew so well. Every spot around him was nearly in complete darkness, shadowed by the enormous time bomb.

Before Toad could walk to the first turn, he fell to his knees.

"Why does this have to happen? Mario, where are you? Somebody, anybody, SAVE US!"

Lightning struck above Toad. He looked up and saw dark clouds swirling all around him, like a whirlpool. From this swirl of clouds descended Count Bleck, appearing for the first time since the day the time bomb dropped.

"Mario has been here, you fool, and even he gave up! Just like the rest of this pathetic world!" Count Bleck laughed insanely as Toad jumped to his feet.

"How could you do this? Don't you know you'll be dead, too? And where is Mario?"

"Oh, don't worry; it will all be worth it. I once gave my life to see this world fall, and my plans failed. But no one can stop me now!" Count Bleck cackled crazily. "And Mario was here. Yes, he was here alright. The weak little plumber tried to stop me, but I defeated him. He is now imprisoned, struggling to save his poor, defenseless people."

"Where is he?"

"Let me show you," Count Bleck laughed once again, and started to rise into the clouds.

Then, Toad started to rise, too. He was carried into the clouds, where everything was completely dark. He floated about for a few moments in the dark clouds. Suddenly, he fell. He wasn't falling fast, but he still couldn't see where he was going.

Toad eventually landed in a patch of grass, where light was shining. As he glanced around, he found himself in a small forest, enclosed and sealed by a wall of crystals. He looked around the trees, examining this strange place where he had fallen to.

And there, in the heart of the forest, sat Mario, tied to a tree, alarmed at the sight of Toad in front of him.


	14. The Battle for the Worlds

Toad rushed up to Mario, who stared back at him in horror. Toad couldn't untie him, but he managed to rip the tape off Mario's mouth.

"Toad! He's got you too?"

"Not quite, but if we don't hurry up, he will."

Toad and Mario worked quickly to cut through the tough rope. Just as Toad was about to cut the last strand of rope with a sharpened stick, Count Bleck floated into view.

"Ah, I see you've found him, mushroom boy," Count Bleck said. Toad dropped the stick, ready to run. However, Mario, who had freed his left arm, reached for the stick and cut off the last strand of rope.

"Thought you had finished us off?" Mario rose to his feet. "Well think again!"

"Oh, please, this will be easy. I apologize for having to defeat you a second time, Mario."

Count Bleck rushed at Mario, and tried to whack him with his staff. Mario jumped out of the way, and punched Count Bleck in the jaw. While Count Bleck yelped with pain, Mario shouted over to Toad.

"C'mon, let's find some fire flowers! I know there's some in here!" and they ran off to search.

When Count Bleck had regained his focus, he went immediately after Mario. But before he could find either of them, Toad found a fire flower sitting under a tree. He meant to grab it for Mario, but it jumped into his body as he touched it. Toad felt a strange sensation, like he was going to melt into the ground, but then the feeling wore off, and he felt more powerful than ever.

He ran around the forest, searching for Count Bleck, and soon found him firing curses at Mario with his staff. Count Bleck heard his footsteps and turned around, but Toad surprised him with a set of fireballs that flew out of the red dots on his head. As Count Bleck screamed in pain, Mario kicked him in the head from behind.

Toad and Mario appeared to be dominating the fight, but then Count Bleck unleashed a stream of curses all around him. One of them hit Mario, who fell to the ground, squirming uncontrollably. Count Bleck rushed at Toad, whose reflexes weren't improved from the fire flower. Toad was whacked with Count Bleck's staff, and he was sent flying backwards into a tree. When he had recovered and was sitting up against the tree, Count Bleck had already approached him, ready to release another curse.

But suddenly he gripped his head, screaming in pain, and fell down onto his side to reveal Mario, who had gotten a fire flower. Without a moment to spare, Toad jumped over Count Bleck and ran to Mario. Together, they produced an extremely large fireball, capable of slashing its flames through the whole forest.

Before Count Bleck could get up, they launched the giant fireball directly towards him.

The fireball exploded on contact with Count Bleck's body, and the whole forest was lit ablaze. Only Toad and Mario were unharmed by their own ability. After a few seconds, the smoke slightly cleared to reveal Count Bleck's body, lying motionless on the burning grass. Besides the burning flames, the whole forest was silent. Then, suddenly, the ground shook as if there was an earthquake.

"The time bomb! It's going to explode!" Toad realized. Toad and Mario ran to Count Bleck, and forced him awake.

"Tell us now! How do we disarm the bomb?" Mario demanded.

"It's no use… you weaklings have failed…"

"No! You're the one who has failed! Now tell us how to do it!" Toad shouted.

"Hehe… you fools…" Count Bleck smiled, not giving any information. However, Toad caught his eyes shifting to the left, and Toad followed his gaze to find a switch on a stone wall.

"That wall! This way, Mario!" Toad yelled over the sound of the shaking earth.

They sprinted to the stone wall to find a switch shaped like a circuit breaker, with the time on the bomb inscribed. The time read "0 d, 0 h, 0 min, 30 s"

The switch was turned upward, towards a label that read "Grow". The bottom of the switch was labeled "Shrink".

"I… I used it when I was building the bomb… So it wouldn't be… noticeable…" Count Bleck was growing weaker.

"Now, Mario!" Toad shouted. Together, they moved the heavy switch downward, towards "Shrink". The ground was still shaking, and timer counted down the final twenty seconds.

With ten seconds left to spare, Toad gripped Mario's arm, trembling. They both closed their eyes tightly as the final seconds ticked away.

Then, the crystal wall that sealed the forest exploded, as Toad and Mario flew backwards. Shards of crystal and tree bark flew in every direction. Toad landed on the burning grass face first, and his vision slowly faded to black.


	15. The Outcome of the Earth

Toad opened his eyes. He was lying on his back, on top of a patch of burnt grass, facing a ceiling of crystals. As he sat up, he realized that he was behind a tree. He glanced around the tree, and saw broad daylight through a hole in the wall of crystals.

An enormous crowd of people stood waiting outside the hole. They were neither happy nor sad, but rather confused and apprehensive. The time bomb had disappeared after exploding. Toad looked around and saw Mario in the tree next to him, who was also sitting up.

"Did we…" Mario couldn't finish. The two helped each other up, and together, they stepped out of the hole and out of the forest.

A massive cheer thundered from the crowd as Toad and Mario emerged. They all rushed to the two heroes and embraced them, the saviors of the planet. Toad had been a racer for five years now, but never in his life did he ever imagine of saving the world. He glanced behind him, and saw the Barrier of Worlds, completely repaired despite the giant hole from the exploding time bomb.

"Well, I guess we won't be getting any more trouble from Star Wars characters," Toad chuckled to himself.

One week later…

"So we really did it, huh?" Mario said to Toad. Mario had invited Toad to his house for dinner, after Toad could finally escape the crowds of people constantly in front of his house.

"Yeah. Did you know we were inside the Barrier of Worlds the whole time?"

"Really? I never even noticed."

"Oh really? You never noticed the giant hole in the wall of the barrier outside?"

"Well, yeah, I saw that, but… uh, I was weak! I couldn't tell!"

"Sure you couldn't."

"Well anyway, how did we ever escape that whole time bomb thing?"

"Luck, I guess. We managed to shrink it down enough so that it didn't destroy the world. Only part of the Barrier of Worlds was blown up."

"But how? That thing was huge!"

"Yeah, I still don't understand it. I guess Count Bleck wasn't as smart as he seemed."

"Definitely! That thing shrunk faster than it grew! Why would he build it like that?"

"Don't ask me."

"Well, I suppose you better get going. I bet you have autographs to sign back home." Mario opened his curtain to find thousands of fans clawing at the window. "Or, maybe not. Looks like you'll be staying here for tonight."

"Oh, that's okay. I'm surprised those fans have already gotten over the whole situation. I thought they would still be in shock or something."

"Yeah... So, is that it? Are we done?"

"No, not just yet," Toad smiled and thought of his go-kart, still sitting on the side of the road, next to the finish line at Yoshi Falls.


	16. The Dream Returns

Toad walked through the entrance to Yoshi Falls. He spotted his kart immediately, parked on the side of the road, past the finish line. But there, in front of the kart, stood Toadette.

"Toadette! Thank goodness you're okay! I never heard from you after that race in Yoshi Falls!" Toad ran over to Toadette, who still stood by the kart, staring at it.

"Uh, Toadette? Is something wrong?"

Suddenly, Toadette spun around, wrapped her arms around Toad, and kissed him on the lips. As she drew away, she looked into Toad's eyes. Toad never even moved, his face as red as the dots on his head. After a long pause, Toadette spoke up.

"So, I guess we're in the championship, right?" Toadette smiled, seemingly ignoring what just happened.

"I... uh… well… yeah," Toad stammered.

"Good, then we better start training!"

Toadette skipped away, leaving Toad, who stared after her. "What just… did she…" Toad stood motionless for a few moments, then eventually got into his kart, and drove back to his house.

* * *

"And here's our story of the day: The Mario Kart season has officially resumed! The championship race of the year will be held next Saturday, 2:00 P.M at Dry Dry Desert for the minor-leagues, and 5:00 P.M at Mario Circuit for the major-leagues. Now here's Toadsworth, President of Mario Kart, who will provide details."

The news channel had continued its reports the day after Toad finally came home from Mario's house. He sat on his couch, not having to train with Toadette for another three hours, and of course, he spent all three hours watching TV.

"Hello, all!" Toadsworth appeared on the screen. "I hope you and those close to you have all recovered from this recent event. This Saturday, we will hold the final two races of the Mario Kart season! The minor-league championship race will take place at 2:00 P.M in Dry Dry Desert, and the major-league championship at 5:00 P.M in Mario Circuit. We are honored to have the privilege of rewarding the Ultimate Champion trophy to our major-league champion this year, as many of us initially assumed that the season would not go on. Congratulations to the sixteen Mario Kart teams who qualified for the races, and I hope to see you all on Saturday!" Toadsworth concluded his report.

The couch creaked as Toad laid back, anxious for his race to come. He could see himself, clearer than ever, holding the Ultimate Champion trophy, the new king of Mario Kart. There was no doubt that almost all of the fans would be rooting for either him or Mario. Toad slouched down, and fell asleep watching the news until 5:30, when he awoke to go train with Toadette.


	17. The Race of a Lifetime

It was here. If the fight against Count Bleck had not been enough, _this_ was the biggest moment of Toad's life. Toad woke up on Saturday morning, feeling more confident than ever. He had officially qualified for the race, earning a spot as the #5 kart. Fifth in the world, out of all the best Mario Kart racers in the major-leagues.

Toad arrived at Mario Circuit with Toadette, and together they prepared for the biggest race of their life. Shortly after they arrived, more racers and excited fans came rushing in. Toad found out that there was even an announcer up in a booth.

Toad took a deep breath, then smiled. "I can do this!" he thought to himself.

"Everyone, get in your karts!" The Lakitu finally announced.

But before getting in his kart, Toad gazed around the stadium. He saw the fans. He saw the newly paved track ahead of him. On the sideline, he saw a cloth that covered the Ultimate Champion trophy on a table. After today, he would either have made his life dream come true, or... no, he couldn't think about it.

Toad finally got into the driver's seat of his golden go-kart, and waited for the start of his final test.

Suddenly, the crowd grew silent, as the Lakitu hung a golden traffic light over the heads of the racers. "Ready…" Not one crowd member spoke. The only sound Toad could hear was the pounding of his heart. "Set…" Toad gripped the steering wheel tightly and placed his foot of the gas pedal. The wait was over.

"GO!"

The state-of-the-art golden mushroom kart didn't let Toad down. With a force unlike anything Toad had ever felt before, it blasted forward, right into first place.

"And here we go! Starting off in first place are the two rookies, Toad and Toadette, defending champions of the minor-leagues. They are the first rookies to ever appear in a final major-league race. And I'm sure we all know that Toad has done a little more than just race karts, right?"

Gradually, the pressure on Toad started to fade. Now he was completely focused, so focused that he nearly forgot the importance of the race.

However, Toad and Toadette's five star kart wasn't enough to keep them in first place; by the start of Lap 2, they had dropped down to third place.

"In first place now is Mario and Luigi, the only back-to-back champions to ever race in the major-leagues. Yes, they were the Ultimate Champions last year, and they hope to repeat again this year. Mario has also had some accomplishments outside of racing, as we all know."

Toad and Toadette remained in third place for the rest of Lap 2. Then, as they entered the final lap of the season, Toadette found a bow and arrow from an item box. She shot an arrow into the exhaust pipe of the second place kart, which spun out of control into the sideline wall. The main competition was now between Toad and Toadette in second place, and Mario and Luigi in first place.

"Oh, boy, this is gonna get good. Toad and Toadette are racing tremendously well now, and it looks like they're getting closer to Mario and Luigi! This is it! Someone's gonna win this in the final seconds!"

Toad and Toadette were only inches behind Mario and Luigi's kart, and they only had two more turns until the final stretch to the finish line. The two karts passed by the last set of item boxes, but they both missed them. It was all up to Toad now, and his driving skills. As the two karts made the final turn, Toad and Toadette pulled in neck-to-neck with Mario and Luigi. Toad and Mario looked at each other, once heroes of the world, now competing to win the biggest race in Mario Kart history.

"Sorry, Toad," said Mario, and he tried to bump Toad into the sideline wall. However, Mario's bump wasn't forceful enough, and turned into a push. The two karts slowly progressed towards the sideline, with Toad's kart being the one about to hit the wall. Toad slammed the gas pedal to the floor, and slowly started to inch in front of Mario. Just before Toad could be bumped into the wall, he managed to pull away from Mario, who crashed into the sideline wall.

"Toad and Toadette have pulled away from Mario and Luigi! Here they are, racing the final feet of the race… AND THEY'VE DONE IT! Toad and Toadette have won the Mario Kart major-leagues! The first rookies ever to do so! AMAZING!"

Toad looked down and saw his kart cross the black and white checkerboard line. He sat back, breathed a heavy sigh of relief, then threw his arms up into the air, screaming with joy. As his kart slowed down, Toadette stood up, and she too threw her arms into the air. They rode their first victory lap as Ultimate Champions, the new king and queen of Mario Kart.

On the podium, Toadsworth carried forward the large cloth, which hid the most prized possession in the league. Then, as he stood the trophy in front of Toad, Toadsworth tore the cloth off, revealing Toad's most treasure trophy of all. The pure golden cup shined in the sunlight, with the words "Mario Kart – Ultimate Champion" engraved.

Toad hefted the trophy into the air, and jumped with all his might, just like in the image he had been imagining for over a year. Toadette stood next to him, giving the biggest smile Toad had ever seen. Then, she jumped up and hugged Toad as tightly as she could. The whole stadium was roaring with cheers, and confetti flew through the air. Toad wanted the celebration to go on until the end of time.

After a long and emotional ceremony, Toad and Toadette returned to their homes. Despite Toad's polite offerings, Toadette let him keep the cup, knowing how much it meant to him.

Toad rode home in his first-time championship-winning go-kart, the kart that was once called "Bowser's Masterpiece", which was now "Toad's Masterpiece".

When Toad got home, he sat down on his old couch, and thought about just what he had done in the past year.

He had made the history books. Both the "Racing" history books and the "World Heroes" history books. He saved the world from destruction, and repaired the ancient Barrier of Worlds, ending the chaos between his world and the other worlds.

But perhaps best of all, he had made his life dream come true. He was finally, and truly, an Ultimate Champion.


End file.
